This application claims priority to United Kingdom application Number GB 0111121.1 filed on May 5, 2001.
The present invention relates to a vehicle, a hinge and a method of adjusting a latching arrangement. More specifically, the present invention relates to a hinge for pivotally mounting a door to a door pillar of a vehicle body, and a vehicle incorporating such a hinge.
Vehicle passenger doors are currently provided with a latch situated midway up the rear side of the door. When the door is closed, the latch engages with a striker positioned on a door pillar such that the door is fixed in a closed position, until the latch is released from the striker when the door handle is operated.
Cars are specifically designed with front and rear crumple zones to absorb a substantial amount of impact to the car body. Additionally, side intrusion beams are generally provided in the void between the inner and outer skins of car passenger doors to assist in the protection of the passengers (which term is understood to include the driver) from side impact due to a collision with another vehicle, for example. Normally, such beams operate by transmitting the force of the impact via the door hinges and latch to the door pillars and then to the roof and sill of the vehicle where the force is dissipated.
The doors together with such door pillars form a rigid safety cell to protect the occupants of the vehicle passenger compartment. However the strength of the safety cell is very much dependent on the doors remaining in a closed position when an impact occurs either to the side or to either end of the car such that the force transmission path operates as intended.
To improve the structural integrity of such force transmission paths it is desirable to minimize the number of components through which impact forces must pass as the potential for weak points in the path is thus minimized. Furthermore, it is desirable to minimize any offsets in the force transmission paths that in effect, would cause axial forces to induce bending moments in the vehicle doors, for example, that would increase the risk of a component failure causing a door to open. In prior art vehicles, the intrusion beams generally run proximate the outboard face of a car door whereas the latch is positioned proximate the inboard face of the door, resulting in an offset. Additionally, in prior art vehicles the striker arranged to cooperate with the latch for the front door is secured separately from the rear door hinge to the B pillar of the vehicle. The B pillar is generally manufactured from relatively thin sheet metal and may thus be considered to be a weak point susceptible to failure by tearing under load. The positioning of the striker directly on the B pillar also means that the striker may only be accessed to enable adjustment of its position when the front door is opened.
The present invention seeks to overcome, or at least mitigate, the problems with the prior art.
One aspect of the present invention provides a hinge for pivotally mounting a first door to a door pillar of a vehicle body of a vehicle, the hinge having been provided thereon one portion of a co-operating latching arrangement for releasably securing in a closed position a second door.
One advantage of this aspect of the invention is that the risk of a portion of the latching arrangement being torn from the B pillar is minimized.
A second aspect of the present invention provides a vehicle having a vehicle body and a door releasably securable in a closed position relative to the vehicle body by means of a latching arrangement comprising a latch and striker, one of the latch or striker being mounted on a pillar of the vehicle body and the other being mounted on the door, wherein the latch or striker is positioned proximate the outboard face of the vehicle body.
One advantage of this aspect of the invention is that the offset between the latching arrangement and a side intrusion beam is minimized.
A third aspect of the present invention provides a portion of a co-operating latching arrangement for releasably securing a first door to a fixed structure of a vehicle body of a vehicle, the portion comprising means for adjusting the position of the portion relative to the fixed structure wherein the adjusting means is accessible to enable adjustment when the first door is closed.
A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a method of adjusting a portion of a co-operating latching arrangement for releasably securing a first door to a fixed structure of a vehicle body of a vehicle, wherein means is provided to adjust the position of the portion relative to the first door, the method comprising the steps of: closing the first door so as to be releasably secured by the latching arrangement and adjusting the position of the portion.